The Skinny on the Fat-Burning Diet

In case you missed me on Facebook Live last Wednesday (you can watch the video here), I was talking about the fat-burning clinics that seem to be popping up everywhere and what's really behind the very expensive 40-day diets.

These clinics are oftentimes in the office of chiropractors and the diet is based off of the Nutrimost plan created by a chiropractor, Ray Wisniewski, D.C.

I want to go into a little more detail about this specific diet so you can understand why I’m not a fan.

Basics of the Fat-Burning Diet

Before you start, the clinics do a “fat scan” and come up with a personalized list of expensive supplements that you need to take the entire time you’re on the diet.

They use some seemingly questionable “technology” to get a read on what’s happening at a cellular level to help come up with the exact supplements your body needs so it can rid the body of toxins and help get you into a fat-burning state.

*As of yet, there has been zero scientific evidence that this scan works for this kind of thing.

On day 1 of the diet, you are to eat as much fat as you can possibly get in, along with indulging in any food you want to eat that you might miss when you start.

Day 2-40 it’s all about calorie restriction, 500-800 calories per day, eating only 6(!) food items per day. The breakdown is 2 proteins, 2 vegetables and 2 fruits and you’re not allowed to eat the same food twice in one day.

Not only can’t you eat the same food twice in one day, you can’t eat the same protein two days in a row.

You can’t mix vegetables.

All fat must be trimmed from any meats. No oils or fats are to be used in the meals. You can’t even use body lotions or shampoos with oils of any kind in them.

You can’t use any oil-based supplements like vitamin D and fish oil.

All food must be measured and portioned.

Fruits are acceptable but need to be eaten separate from your meal. You can’t eat the same fruit twice in one day. Avocados aren’t allowed!

These clinics claim that after the initial 40 days, you go into Phase 3 which is a 3-day period where your body is now resetting it’s metabolism and weight to a new set-point and you’ll never gain the weight back. You continue to restrict calories but can stop taking the supplements.

From day 44 through the next 3 weeks, or Phase 4, you’ll start to add food back in, including fats and oils, and increase calories.

During this phase, coconut oil is essential (no kidding), you must weigh yourself daily, and if your scale ever goes over the 2 pounds from your “reset point,” you have to skip a meal and only have a steak with an apple or raw tomato for dinner.

Phase 5 is where, because of this plan, you have now reset your hormones, neurotransmitters and metabolism so you can be "empowered to make better choices." They also encourage you to get another scan because you will always have health challenges and they have another plan and more supplements to buy.

Phase 6 is what they call the “Remain Thin Phase.” The claim is that you’ll be able to identify foods that trigger weight gain and you can choose not to eat them. If you, at any time, go over the 2 pound set-point, you revert to the above-mentioned “Steak Day” so your body can activate some kind of stored memory to put you back into fat-burning mode.

Oh, and by the way, all of the cosmetics, toothpastes, lotions and other personal care products they warn you away from, conveniently, they have their own line of products to replace the ones you’re using now.

I don’t know about you but this sounds extremely expensive and complicated beyond anything I’ve ever seen or done.

The idea that serious calorie restriction, coupled with 40 days of zero fats, is healthy or even sustainable, is absurd.

I speak from firsthand experience when I tell you that my body went through total and complete hell when I tried to do a lean-protein diet. I had insatiable hunger, headaches that put me out of commission, diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, super low blood pressure and a slow heartbeat.

Guess what cured all of those symptoms? Fat. If you haven’t read my book, Ketogenic Solutions, yet, let me just say that cream cheese was my hero.

Ketosis without Fat is Just Starvation

There are claims that cravings will disappear with the calorie restricting and you won’t be hungry. The breakdown is this, because you’ll be in ketosis due to the calorie limit, you may, indeed, not be hungry. Ketosis is a natural appetite suppressant. But more likely than not, you’ll feel like you’re starving and the only cure for that is fat.

Which you won’t be eating any of for at least 43 days if you’re on this diet.

There really is no need for you to put your body through this kind of torture, nor does the whole eating thing need to be nearly this complicated.

There's a Better Way...

It’s not rocket science that eating real, quality foods, full of fat, clean protein sources and loads of organic veggies, does a body good.

When you’re filling up on the right foods, calorie-counting is unnecessary.

As you give your body what it needs, you’ll naturally go longer without eating and slip easily into intermittent fasting without batting an eye.

Cravings really are kicked to the curb because you’re no longer a slave to your blood sugar spikes and crashes.

You can turn your body into a real fat-burner but there is no magic number of days when it happens.